Publications by authors named "Alen Karic"

Article Synopsis
  • Heart failure is a common condition that leads to high rates of hospitalization and death; therefore, medications like mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (MRA) are recommended for patients with symptomatic heart failure.
  • Our study compares the effectiveness of two MRAs, eplerenone and spironolactone, on improving left ventricular function (measured by left ventricle ejection fraction) in chronic heart failure patients, aiming to prevent hospitalizations and improve clinical outcomes.
  • Results showed that after 12 months, patients treated with eplerenone had a significant improvement in left ventricular ejection fraction and a notable reduction in left ventricular volume compared to those treated with spironolactone.
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Background: Cerebrovascular accidents (CVI) are considered the second most serious complication in cardiac surgery patients with a frequency of 10%. By preventing complications of surgical treatment, using a Color Doppler ultrasound (CDU) device, in the population of cardiac surgery patients, the unplanned costs of prolonged postoperative treatment would be reduced.

Objective: To prove that the acquisition and use of the newly developed CDU device "Affinit 30" is completely economical, profitable and medically justified.

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Background: Acute left ventricular free wall rupture (LVFWR) is a life-threatening complication of myocardial infarction that requires urgent intervention. Surgical repair has continued to be the treatment of choice. Studies suggest a posterolateral or inferior infarction is more likely to result in free wall rupture than an anterior infarction.

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Introduction: Degenerative aortic stenosis (AS) is the most frequent cause among aortic valve stenotic changes. Mini Sternotomy Aortic Valve Replacement is a replacement of aortic valve through upper partial sternotomy.

Aim: The aim of this approach is to improve postoperative convalescence by leaving pleural spaces closed and do not compromise respiratory function, to decrease bleeding, and reduce post op ventilation time and ICU stay.

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Introduction: Techniques of coronary artery revascularisation on the beating heart have evolved with an attempt to reduce the potential deleterious effects of extracorporeal circulation. It is of particular value in those with a calcified or atheromatous ascending aorta. Total arterial revascularisation is ideal.

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Introduction: The recent studies of Parkinson's disease (PD) indicate that genetics and environmental factors may play an important role in developing of PD. Nowadays, the cell death and cell adhesion are pathogenetic mechanisms which could be related with PD. On the basis of relationship of those mechanisms with PD, the aim of this study was to identify new candidate genes for PD by integration of results of transcriptomics studies and results obtained by Biomedical Discovery Support System (BITOLA).

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Complexity of multifactorial diseases as Parkinson's disease (PD) often complicate identifying causal genetic factors by traditional approaches such as positional cloning and candidate gene analyses. PD is etiologically and genetically complex disease and second most common neurodegenerative disorder after Alzheimer's disease. The most cases of PD are idiopathic and small growing subset of individuals have single gene defect as the cause.

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We present a case of 71 year old man operated in our clinic for ruptured abdominal aneurysm complicated with aorto-caval fistula, which was revealed during the surgery and successfully repaired by direct sutures within the aorta. This is the first record of the aorto-caval fistula that was so far noticed in our clinic. Urgent surgery and repair of the defect conneting aorta and vena cava by direct sutures within the aorta followed by ruptured aneurysm repair with tube graft is only way of treatment.

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Although superficial thrombophlebitis is a common disorder until recently it was considered as benign disorder. Also it is associated with varicose vein at legs and it was treated effectively with conservative methods, walking and non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs. Aims of our investigation were: determine frequency of clinically silent deep vein thrombosis at legs in patient with and without superficial thrombophlebitis, determine correlation between superficial thrombophlebitis and deep vein thrombosis regardless of localization of superficial thrombophlebitis in superficial veins of legs and determine adequacy and safety vein phlebography in early diagnosis clinically silent deep vein thrombosis in patients with superficial thrombophlebitis.

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Study comparing the results of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) with and without cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) in the treatment of left main stenosis (LMS) has not yet been made in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The main aim of this study was to compare result of CABG performed on 176 patients, in Cardiovacular clinic of University Clinical Center in Tuzla from May 1999 to January 2005, by these two methods in LMS group of patients in the early and late postoperative period. The study was divided in two parts.

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Patients with significant stenosis (>50%) of the left main coronary artery (LM) are considered high risk for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). LM disease is mainly considered a relative contraindication for off pump coronary artery bypass grafting (OPCAB) because of the reduced tolerancy of hamodynamic disturbances which occurs during mobilisation and exposition of the heart, necessary for this type of operations. The aim of the study is to show feasibility of OPCAB for patient with occlusion of the LM and 75% stenosis of the right coronary artery.

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This study reviewed the early experience with off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery in treatment of patients with severe left main coronary artery stenosis. From May 2002-December 2003, 75 patients with significant left main coronary artery stenosis (> or = 50%) underwent coronary artery bypass grafting. 35 patients were operated without the use of cardiopulmonary bypass (OPCAB) and compared with 40 patients operated with the use of cardiopulmonary bypass (ONCAB).

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